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Thief II: The Metal Age

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Revision as of 13:23, 10 October 2016 by Tafferwocky (talk | contribs) (→‎Fan Missions: Replaced broken T2X link)
Thief II: The Metal Age
Thief II: The Metal Age cover
Developers
Looking Glass Studios
Publishers
Eidos Interactive
Square Enix
Engines
Dark Engine
Release dates
Windows March 21, 2000
Thief II: The Metal Age on Wikipedia
Thief
Thief: The Dark Project 1998
Thief II: The Metal Age 2000
Thief: Deadly Shadows 2004
The Dark Mod (unofficial spin-off) 2009
Thief 2014

Key points

Tafferpatcher improves compatibility with modern systems.

General information

A Wiki for the classic Thief games
TTLG Forums - Thief Series
TTLG Forums - modding & mission design
GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions
Steam Users' Forums for game series

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
SafeDisc disc check (removed by Tafferpatcher).
Windows
Amazon.com
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Windows
GamersGate
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Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
Soundtrack, manual, "making of" video, reference card, avatars.
Windows
Green Man Gaming
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Windows
Humble Store
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Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Manual can be found in game's folder.
Windows
A demo pre-patched with NewDark is available.

Essential improvements

Tafferpatcher

Tafferpatcher installs NewDark, which improves compatibility on modern systems. Also contains mission fixes and optional texture mods. The GOG release has an out-of-date, stripped-down version of this patch.

Fan Missions

A large number of Fan Missions, many of very high quality, have been produced for the Thief games. A categorised list is available here.
A pre-patched version of Thief2X, the fan-made expansion pack for Thief 2, can be downloaded here (choose the 'ZIP-archive' link).
Instructions

Skip intro videos

Instructions

Texture mods

Enhancement Pack 2.0

The Enhancement Pack 2.0 is an updated version of the original Enhancement Pack (which is included in Tafferpatcher and is much less comprehensive). This contains higher quality reproductions of original textures and objects. Also works with Thief Gold/The Dark Project.

The Necro Age

The Necro Age pack is very similar to the Enhancement Pack 2, but focuses on giving the game a slightly darker, noir look. Somewhere between the EP2 and HD Mod in lore-accuracy. Also works with Thief Gold/The Dark Project.

Thief 2 HD Texture Mod

The Thief 2 HD Texture Mod adds new textures and effects to all original missions. Includes a tool to configure advanced graphics settings (Anti-Aliasing, Bloom, etc.).

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

Template:Game data/row
System Location
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/211740/pfx/[Note 1]
Configuration files are: cam.cfg (basic settings, resolution), cam_ext.cfg (NewDark advanced settings), cam_mod.ini (Mod and fan mission options), install.cfg and user.bnd (key bindings).

Save game data location

Template:Game data/row
System Location
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/211740/pfx/[Note 1]
Fan mission saves are kept in the mission's folder.

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video settings

In-game video options (With Tafferpatcher)
In-game video options (With Tafferpatcher)

Template:Video settings

Field of view (FOV)

Instructions

Windowed

Instructions

Vertical sync (Vsync)

Installing Tafferpatcher enables Vsync by default. Vsync can be disabled.
Instructions

High frame rate

Instructions
Instructions

Input settings

Input settings
Input settings

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

Audio options (With Tafferpatcher)
Audio options (With Tafferpatcher)

Template:Audio settings

EAX support

Thief II features enhanced 3D sound effects that originally required a Creative sound card with special EAX drivers. To use EAX effects on modern systems, do the following:
Instructions

Network

Use T2 Multiplayer Beta for multiplayer support.
T2 Multiplayer is not compatible with NewDark or Tafferpatcher; use the included thief2.exe and patch with DDFix.

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
2-8 Co-op
Online play
2-8 Co-op

Connection types

Type Native Notes
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Direct IP

VR support

Issues fixed

Head Bobbing

By default, Thief II: The Metal Age has head bobbing that may cause motion sickness.
Instructions

Crashes on multi-core systems

Instructions

Videos do not play

Instructions

Gamma slider has no effect on gamma/brightness

Instructions

Other information

Sound effects enhancement pack

This mod provides cleaned up and resampled sound files for Thief Gold and Thief II. The quality difference is particularly noticeable when wearing headphones.

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 6, 9 DirectX 9 requires NewDark/Tafferpatcher.
Software renderer
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Audio DirectSound, OpenAL OpenAL requires NewDark/Tafferpatcher.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 95
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 233 MHz
System memory (RAM) 48 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 250 MB
Video card (GPU) 4 MB of VRAM
DirectX 7 compatible
Sound (audio device) 100% Direct X 7.0 compatible sound card
Other 4x CD-ROM drive
NewDark's system requirements - and by association those for GOG.com's Windows release - are higher than the original requirements listed here.

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/211740/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (211740) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References